Biography

Michael W. Smith, MD, MBA, CPT

As medical director and chief medical editor at WebMD, Michael W. Smith, MD, MBA, CPT, is in charge of the medical team that is responsible for upholding the accuracy and credibility of all WebMD health information.

He first joined WebMD in 1999, and now oversees a team of staff physicians and medical reviewers across the U.S. responsible for creating content and assuring its continued medical accuracy and relevance to the WebMD audience.

Dr. Smith is a regular expert on national and local broadcast media, including regular appearances on The Weather Channel and a monthly feature on Fox 5 News in New York to discuss the latest health headlines. Other appearances include Fox News, MSNBC, CBS’ The Early Show, and Katie Couric's web-based show @KatieCouric, among others. In addition, he has appeared in multiple publications, including Men's Health, Newsweek, Forbes, and Reader's Digest and was featured as the Internet's Top Doc in USA Weekend. He has also been interviewed by local and nationally syndicated radio stations, magazines, and newspapers across the country, speaking on everything from hangover remedies to navigating the Internet for accurate, credible health information.

Dr. Smith serves as a member of the Nutrition Wellness Educator Certification Panel, established by the American Association of Family and Consumer Services. The panel is responsible for determining the competency scope of the Nutrition and Wellness Educator certification.

In 2013, Dr. Smith provided the keynote speech at the Institute of Food Technologists Wellness 2013 conference and was a featured presenter at the Digital Health Communication Extravaganza.

Dr. Smith also volunteers at the Good Samaritan Health Center in Atlanta, where he sees patients who do not have health insurance or are unable to pay for health care.

As a board-certified general internist, Dr. Smith's interest and knowledge span a wide array of medical topics. Arthritis is an area of personal interest to him, having developed ankylosing spondylitis in his college years. He is particularly interested in prevention and helping people live a healthy, active lifestyle and is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer.

Dr. Smith graduated from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Ga., in 1994, then did his internship in internal medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon. He finished his internal medicine residency -- his final year as chief resident -- at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta. He became board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and then entered private practice as a primary care physician. In 2013, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

Dr. Smith is a member of the American College of Physicians and the HealthLeaders Media Council.